A city of lights: Coteaux and Pierreuses in Liège

Yesterday evening was the 22nd edition of Nocturne des Coteaux de la Citadelle, an annual event in Liège that started in 1994. Candles were set on different places and various events were organised to highlight a part of the city usually discrete but nonetheless amazing spots!

Most people in Liège know the city centre with Place Saint-Lambert, its station and its shops (H&M, Fnac, Inno and others). Closeby remains a more silent and old historical district, where a number of monuments and green spaces can be visited without feeling oppressed as a tourist. There are also traditional bakeries where you can find exquisite pastries and local waffles for cheap prices.

Church of Saint-Barthélemy © Phlegmish & Wallony

Gentle giant in the area, a hill overlooks the city and hosts a nice, authentic quarter, (les) Pierreuses. The place is hidden behind the city centre and is harder to access because it is on a slope. Old romantic half-timbered houses welcome the few curious passerbys. Pierreuses have their culture and their people, usually known to be more open-minded, artistic and have their sense of humour and community.

Collection of views from Pierreuses © Phlegmish & Wallony

In the middle of Pierreuses, a door gives a free of access to a local farm with kitchen gardens and cattle. It offers people with less opportunities a chance to be included in society by working there. In there, you haven't even left the big crowded city of Liège but you really ARE in the countryside!

Farm in Pierreuses © Phlegmish & Wallony

If you get to the top of the hill following the way from Pierreuses, you will arrive at (les) Coteaux (de la Citadelle), a high point offering the best of the views on the whole city. You can use that place for endless talks with loved ones under starry skies (if you have a lot of things to tell them!). When you're done, you can go back to the centre by using the so-called "mountain" of Bueren, probably one of the longest staircases in the world...

Candles on Bueren staircase © Phlegmish & Wallony

Each year, on 3rd October, this part of the "ardent city", nickname of Liège, gets lit up with over 22,000 candles. Events such as free concerts and theatrical performances are organised, drinks and food are available and the whole place looks a little more romantic. It's the time of the year where the city reveals and animates its hidden parts and some places usually closed to public provide free access to their courtyards and gardens, also full of candles. The whole events takes an end with fireworks at 11.30pm in Parc Saint-Léonard.

Liège during the event © Phlegmish & Wallony

Don't be afraid to visit the historical district of Liège at any time of the year! You can also join two upcoming events in the area: on 9th May, the Coteaux area celebrates Spring with various events including concerts, food/wine tasting and games, and on the last Sunday of June is a guided tour through hidden gardens and other places.

And if you're still going to Liège right now, have some money to spend and are not afraid of rollercoasters and cholesterol(!), you can also go to the October Funfair set for a whole month on Bouvelard d'Avroy... and ask for laquements and croustillons!

English rap in Flanders: Woodie Smalls and Coely

Hiphop and rap music has become a blooming genre nowadays, being performed all over the world and representing various communities, and in a previous article, we focused on Flemish rap and so-called "Nederhop". Two (young!) artists recently attracted my attention. Why? Because they were using American English and weren't even born in the US but in Flanders!


Woodie Smalls, whose real name is Sylvestre Saluma, was born in Sint-Niklaas in 1996. He started rapping in his early teenage and released his first song "Champion Sound" this year (he is now 18!), coming together with an EP called "Soft Parade", with the help of Dutch producer Thovobeats.

The video features him in a typically Flemish village (I assume) in the company of his cousin and friends. Flemish radios such as Studio Brussel (mostly indie music), MNM and JimTV directly broadcasted it. It also reached listeners in the Netherlands, France and Australia.

His lyrics are in English and with a "Black American" accent but his rap is about his life here in Belgium, a whole different lifestyle, far away from the usual "gangsta, diamond rings and bitches" type. He also chose humour for the title of his second track "About The Dutch".

But wait... Woods was not the first Flemish rapper to use English. Three years ago, Belgium discovered Coely! Born in 1994 in Antwerp, Coely Mbueno recorded her first track "Ain't Chasing Pavements" with independent record label Beatville (2012). She came by as a relevant ambassador of female rap, but she also proved that she could sing. National radios embraced her performance and Studio Brussel even elected her as their "Hotshot".



Her first EP "RAAH The Soulful Yeah" also includes the singles "Nothing On Me" and "All I Do". She changed her looks for something more androgynous and revealed a more feministic mind ("(...) the world surrounding me is mostly run by men, but we're taking over!"). She then graduated in 2013 before starting to tour in various festivals of the Benelux. Having attended one of her concerts, I found her very generous with the public and full of energy.

Too many cars in Brussels? Solutions are being found

Brussels has probably one of the densest traffic in Europe, due to its central position in the country (not only geographically) and the number of European/international organisations having their headquarters there. However, actions are taken to promote a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly lifestyle.

New Brussels Capital's logo: yellow love heart on a blue plant

Decent public transports
As it is pretty difficult to find a park place, many inhabitants and workers leave their car at home and favour the city's efficient public transport service.

Wherever you are, you can use GoogleMaps to calculate your journey using buses, trams and the metro. Note however that the website/app is not as efficient in other parts of the country, especially the Walloon region (rather check that website).

On the official app of STIB/MIVB, the regional public transports in Brussels, you can get to know (almost) exactly at which station each bus/tram/metro is, avoiding awkward situations where you find yourself waiting ages for nothing.

Bicycling in the capital
As explained in a former article, bicycles are widely used in the Northern part of the country and it is part of the more healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle.

In Wallonia, bike lanes are being built but there is still a long (bike) way to cross before it gets into the local culture, as riding my bike to work, It is often perceived as an activity for people who are "really" into sports and bikes, or for liberals/alter/hipsters...

In Brussels, the trend to use a bike to work is starting to grow, because it is such a small territory and the public transports are not that cheap. In addition, the city recently introduced a new public transport service called Villo! (a mixture of the French words for "city" and "bike"), taking the example of Vélib in France.

For little expenses, you can automatically rent a bike from a bike station for a certain amount of time. Once you've arrived to your destination, you have to find the closest station to park it. It can be found using this map. Any bike found abandoned somewhere are being checked and the person renting it is contacted by phone.

No car allowed for a day
Yesterday was the annual car-free day in Brussels. A deliciously strange feeling of freedom took over the city and almost no car could be seen in the streets, even the biggest boulevards. The only exceptions were taxis, buses and people who had a special authorisation. As a result, Brussels was full of bikes and looked like a giant playground.

Opening the boulevard
In a less temporary way, the city of Brussels recently opened an entire area in the centre to pedestrians. What used to be a large boulevard with dense traffic became a place of leisure as seats, ping-pong tables and other items are now at the disposal of everyone.

Test: How Belgian are you?

Ever wondered how Belgian you were or could be? For the Belgian National Day, I have made this silly test, which is kind of related to this blog (but hush!)... (This test is scientifically a test, no Googling, no hesitating, and note your answers on a paper.)

1. What's the national dish of Belgium?
A. chips
B. French fries
C. Belgian fries

2. What do you eat them with?
A. mayonnaise
B. ketchup
C. mustard

3. How would you qualify your mother tongue?
A. a majority language
B. a minority language
C. a minority language which is also a majority language

4. What is your favourite drink?
A. wine
B. beer
C. anything else

5. How would you qualify yourself?
A. messy
B. tidy
C. messy but full of compromises

6. How do people qualify your humour?
A. absurd and self-mocking
B. cynical and trash
C. witty and elitist

7. What is a neuske/cuberdon? (Don't Google it)
A. a type of waffle
B. a type of sweet
C. a type of nose

8. What are February and March made for?
A. Valentine's day and St Patrick's day
B. pancakes
C. Carnival

9. As a kid, which one were you waiting for?
A. Santa Claus on 25th December
B. Saint Nicholas on 6th December
C. anything else

10. What do you put in every dish (including sandwiches)?
A. rice
B. aubergine
C. fries

11. Which weather are you most used to?
A. sunny
B. snowy
C. rainy

12. When do you feel proud of your country?
A. all the time
B. never
C. when I'm abroad and/or the national sports team is winning something

13. When not to go shopping?
A. between noon and 2pm
B. late afternoon
C. before Christmas

14. If you have a bicycle, you'd better use it in:
A. the North
B. the South
C. the capital city

15. If you like kissing people to greet them, you'd better not go to:
A. the North
B. the South
C. the capital city

16. Do you know your national anthem?
A. yes, by heart
B. not really, but who cares?
C. I know the neighbour's one better


Check your answers in the comment!

Brussels' messed up identity

No language census has been made in Belgium for around a century, but it is commonly accepted that 20% of Brussels population is made of Dutch speakers and 80% of French speakers (which do not consider themselves as Walloons by the way!) and people can vote for whoever they want at the elections, Flemish or Francophones.

Yet, in 2014, more than 93% of people from Brussels registered themselves as Francophones for the fiscal year, and around the same number is found for pension requests (source: Belga).

French being a more international language due to former colonies around the world, immigration is a factor of "Frenchifying" the territory, in addition to Walloon immigration.

If you happen to live in Brussels, you will probably hear a lot more of Arabic (there is a huge community of people from Maghreb in the capital), Turkish, Spanish, Romanian... and of course English! As for Dutch speakers, they are a few here and there, who usually speak French fluently, so they probably don't think it's that much of a trouble to pick it up officially in administration...

But Brussels culture seems to be based a lot on Flemish culture. For example, last week, Ommegang, which is Dutch means "walking around", was celebrated with a parade in the centre of Brussels. It tells the story of a Virgin Mary statue carried from Antwerp to Brussels and a series of miraculous events associated to it. For the record, it is always funny to see people dressed as Middle Ages knights who have issue getting into a kebab bars with their swords after the parade!

Ommegang in Brussels, just walking around...

In Brussels, people still like to use Flemish-dialect words as a joke (zinneke, skieve, amai, etc.) but largely speak French and are used to meeting French friends (one hour and a half and you're in Paris). Recently, the commemoration of the battle of Waterloo (which is close to Brussels) was a big event largely covered on TV with reconstitutions as well.

If I could define what it means to be from Brussels (but I can't) I'd say that it is having a double culture and double roots. Brussels picked up French, the language of prestige for a few centuries, before realising that its Germanic roots were important too and that the Dutch-speaking minority should be protected.

People in Brussels know what it means to live in a multicultural and multilingual environment and they're almost blasé of it, by contrast with Walloons, who lift their eyebrows when they hear someone speak English in the street! They know what it means to be in a city by which important people pass and take decisions, and where buying a meal can be expensive. That's what makes them so special, I guess.

Free hugs, anyone?

Belgian YouTube channel Would You React decided to test Belgium by carrying out what they called a "social experiment". The question asked was whether the three Belgian regions (Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels) were different as for showing their affection in public.

They took a hidden camera and a "Free Hugs" sign and counted the number of hugs (or refusals) they received in Liège, Antwerp and Brussels. Here is what happened:

Conclusion: although Brussels and Antwerp have slightly higher scores than Liège, all three got the same kind of percentage of hugs... around 57% of passers-by are ready to give you hugs, so why not try?

Last week to visit the Royal Greenhouse!

It only opens every year for three weeks in spring, it's in the Northern part of Brussels (Laeken) and... it's almost over! Nice and cheap activity, but pick the most suitable time for it.

There are four days left (5th, 6th, 7th and 8th May) on which you can visit the Royal Greenhouse of Laeken from 9:30am to 4:00pm. On the last day, it also opens from 8pm to 10pm. It is pretty cheap: only €2.50 per person; it's even free if you're younger than 18.

Situated next to the Royal Castle of Laeken (pronounced "Lah-kun") and some other architectural monuments like the Japanese Tower, this huge heaven on earth is located in Avenue du Parc Royal, 1020 Bruxelles, so it takes around 35-40 min from Central Station with buses and trams (and a bit less from North Station). Follow the signs and find the big fence where the entrance is. You really ought to come by during the week and/or early in the morning, because you may have to queue for a long time at the entrance otherwise.

The place has a collection of plants from different countries under Leopold II (1835-1909) as sorts of keepsakes from our colonial past. The few beautiful greenhouses are surrounded by vast gardens with ponds and some Asian trees. You may just picture yourself as a little prince(ss) playing around in the area and having a daydream and you completely forget that you're in Brussels.

The smell of flowers surrounds you everywhere (if you are allergic, take your medicine!)... You will admire the magnificent structure of the different greenhouses from a different century, as well as the different shapes of the royal plants, which come from the Philippines, India, Australia, and other remote places, and vary from incredibly esthetic to really quirky, animal-like or carnivore. Some are rarity and may not be found anywhere else than there!

Cameras are authorised, so take your best one. But also take your time to enjoy everything with your own eyes! I would say that it is good for any age, so bringing your kids with you is a good idea (but tell them that touching the plants is forbidden!).

In a strange hobbit-like house, you can see former Belgian queen Elizabeth's sculpture workshop. And next to the greenhouse's exit door, you can eat a "couque/koek" (Belgian word for a brioche-like cake) and drink some coffee in an actual greenhouse (without the plants though) with a splendid view on the garden.

If I could point out one negative side of the activity, I'd say that, because the greenhouse is only available for such a short period every year, it becomes full of people. You can't really walk around freely from a greenhouse to another and you have to follow the crowd if you don't want to lose your friends and/or family. Sometimes you have to wait 10 minutes before being able to get into the next greenhouse because some are not that big.